The defending champion Mavericks apparently will lose one of their postseason stars to the Timberwolves, as J.J. Barea will sign a four-year, $19 million deal with Minnesota according to NBA.com writer David Aldridge. The Mavericks reportedly offered Barea just a one-year deal despite the fact that the former Northeastern star was one of their strongest contributors off the bench last season. In the 2011 postseason, Barea averaged 8.9 points, 3.4 assists and 18.6 minutes per game and was the team’s second-leading scorer in its sweep of the Lakers in the conference semifinals. Barea expressed his disappointment with the Mavericks’ attempts to sign him when he appeared on a Dallas radio station.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be like this after everything we did, after my five years here, after what we did last year,” Barea told the Ben and Skin show. “Now you’ve just got to go with it, and things happen.”

Barea, a 27-year-old point guard, will add to the Timberwolves’ depth at guard, where they have already signed Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio.

Jones is known for his 3-point shooting ability. He scored 5.9 points per game for Miami last season while shooting 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. Jones also won the 2011 NBA 3-point shootout during All-Star Weekend, beating out CelticsPaul Pierceand Ray Allen.

With Jones re-signing, the Heat will be have plenty of depth at small forward, as the team also cut a deal with Shane Battier this week. Mike Miller is expected to miss up to eight weeks at the beginning of the season after undergoing hernia surgery.

By Arielle Aronson | Comments Off on NBA Free Agency: Shane Battier to sign with Heat

Yet another free agent will be taking his talents to Miami, as Shane Battier confirmed on Twitter Thursday morning that he will play for the Heat in the abbreviated 2011-12 season.

Battier wrote, “The Lockout gave me a lots of time to consider what was important to me at this stage of my life and career. Over the last week, I’ve played out every scenario in my head over and over. It always came back to one thing for me: a winning role. … This was a exciting process and after much deliberation, I would like to quote the great poet Jimmy Buffett and take my chances “Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season” Let’s Go #Heat!!!!!”

The 33-year-old Battier is strongest defensively, but he can put up points from the perimeter should Heat stars Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh andLeBron Jamesneed help from the outside. Battier has split time in his 10-year career between the Grizzlies and the Rockets. The 6-foot-8 forward shoots 38 percent from the three-point range and averages 9.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

Battier had tweeted throughout the lockout that he was interested in Houston, Memphis, Miami and Oklahoma City.